Monday, February 11, 2013

Blueberry Pancakes, Thai Style Pancakes and a Blogging Event

Lisa, Adrian and Me

One of the great things about being a blogger is that you meet great people like the lovelySeana Smithfrom Sydney, Kids, Food and Travel who are good at sharing and dob you in to attend fun events with people like celebrity chef Adrian Richardson. Unfortunately Seana ended up not being able to make it, but the rest of us gathered in Simon Johnson's demonstration kitchen in Alexandria. That hive of industrial chicness, which is also home to such beauties as this place, but more on that later.

Simon Johnson's is a fantastic gourmet store, which is of huge interest to foodies like me. The cheese room was to die for.

We gathered in the demonstration kitchen upstairs to talk pancakes. Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and apparently pancakes are the order of the day. The idea is that you clean out the pantry before Lent begins, which ends with Easter. In doing so, pancakes are a good way to use up all the baking goodies that you will not be using during Lent. Yeah right!!!!! If you are anything like me, which I suspect most of you are, you don't follow these traditions and would eat pancakes every day of the week, if only your hips would let you.

The most amiable Adrian agreed with my theory and made two dishes for any time of the year, one savoury and one sweet.

This Thai Style Pancake with prawns, which serves two and was as it looks, incredibly yummy.

Then he whipped up a lovely sweet number. It seems the more fat you add, the better it tastes. A fact I should have been more cognisant of it seems.

Because unbeknownst to me, there was to be a cook off between fellow blogger, Lisa from Life as We Know It and myself with mystery ingredients.

The sexual tension rose as we mucked around with the Nutella. No just kidding, I was just wondering if you were still reading.......Actually I had trouble drizzling the Nutella, so Adrian decided to help .........not.

And here's what I came up with, French crepes dressed with banana, Nutella, shaved white and dark chocolate and crushed hazelnuts

Clearly the Nutella incident distracted me, because I lost the cook off to this piece of gorgeousness by Lisa. A raspberry, blueberry and chocolate pancake pizza.

I learned several things that day

If you crack an egg on a flat surface, rather than on the side of a bowl, you are less likely to get shell in your mixture.

Raspberries, blueberries and chocolate are a better combo than bananas, hazelnuts and chocolate, hands down.

I'm not as good a cook as I thought I was.

I like being schoomzed by celebrity chefs. Who wouldn't?

Here are Adrian's recipes

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Makes 4 – 5 pancakes

2 cups self-raising flour

4 whole eggs separated

¼ cup castor sugar

2 ½ cups milk

1 punnet (250g) blueberries

Maple syrup, to serve

Sour cream, to serve

Icing sugar, to serve

Sprig of mint, to serve

1. Whisk egg whites to firm peaks.

2. Mix flour, egg yolks, sugar and milk together in a bowl until smooth (no lumps).

3. Fold in egg whites

4. Allow to batter to stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Add the blueberries to the batter.

6. Place a knob of butter in a pan, on a low to medium heat.

7. Ladle the mixture into the pan, to cover the base of the pan.

8. Cook the pancakes until golden brown on one side then flip over and cook until golden brown.

Serve with sugar.

THAI-STYLE PRAWN PANCAKES

Makes 4 – 5 pancakes

4 eggs, beaten

¼ cup flour

¼ cup water

450 g prawns, cooked or fry raw prawns in a little oil and allow to cool

½ cup bean shoots

½ cup coriander, roughly chopped

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

½ cup Vietnamese mint (can use any mint)

¼ cup cucumber, peeled, deseeded & thinly sliced (matchsticks)

sesame seeds, toasted

salt and pepper

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon palm sugar (brown sugar is also ok)

½ cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon grated ginger

½ tablespoon grated garlic

Olive oil for frying

1. Mix flour, egg and water together in a bowl until smooth (no lumps).

2. Allow the batter to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Ladle the mixture into the pan, making a 20cm pancake.

To make prawn salad:

1. In a frying pan, cook prawns in butter and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous - love it!!! Looks like it was a fabulous day of fun. That Thai pancake looks amazing, thank you for this post and for reminding me that it's Pancake Tuesday tomorrow!. xx Tina

Must say that both your and Lisa's pancakes look fantastic and I'd have scoffed them both at once!

I'd have soloved to go to this event, and then to have had a good old wander around that part of time, and especially around that cheese room. <aybe we can go and have a nosey and a coffee there ourselves one fine day.

Looks like great fun Carolyn! I'm pinning those prawn pancakes for those Lenten Fridays when I won't be eating meat (cough!). The pics of the cruise on instagram looked gorgeous, hope you had a ball.Cheers, Amanda x

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BEACH HOUSE AND RECEIVE UPDATES VIA NEWSLETTER

TRAVEL STORIES AND RESTAURANT REVIEWS

Easy Christmas Ideas

EASTER RECIPE AND TABLESCAPE IDEAS

About Me

Hi I'm Carolyn coming to you from a sweet little beach house on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Desire Empire is my passion and I love all things vintage, interiors, food, travel and family. Come and join me on my journey in paradise.